In response to long standing demand for user-operated exercising devices suitable particularly for home use, a variety of equipment has been devised, developed and marketed. Rowing machines, stationary cycles, treadmills and weight lifting and pulling device installations have proven to be the most popular types over the years. None of them, however, satisfies the ideal of a multipurpose device of size readily accomodated in the average family residence and of lightweight construction capable of withstanding the most rigorous service. Rowing machines and treadmills typically require considerable floor space and present difficult storage problems. Weight lifting and pulling apparatus generally require installation which is expensive and necessitates a permanent commitment of room space. Moreover, all such equipment, and stationary cycles as well, lack versatility in that they do not afford opportunity for development of slow-twitch muscle fibers to increase endurance strength. Instead, the prior art has been only or mainly concerned with the development of muscles of the legs, back or arms or all of those relatively powerful muscles.